In the Morning
by shmulia
Summary: "The alarm clock starts to trill, and it takes all of Sakura's strength to lift her arm from under the duvet and turn it off." NaruSaku fluff, one-shot.


The alarm clock goes off, and it takes all of Sakura's strength to lift her arm from under the duvet and turn it off. As the incessant beeping stops, she draws her arm back into the cocoon of warmth that is her bed, mentally calculating how many seconds she can remain there until she absolutely _has_ to get up.

Her eyelids are heavy as she tries to open them again. Sunshine filters through a slight gap in the curtain, marking the first time in a week that the weather has been anything other than rain. The brightness contrasts the chill in the air, and she thinks to herself that maybe it's time to turn up the heating in the house. She looks at the clock again, and knows that she can't put off getting up any longer.

She begins to sit up, the duvet pooling over her legs as she props herself up against the headboard. She shifts to the side, trying not to disturb the still sleeping figure next to her. She looks over at her boyfriend and smiles. The sunlight falling over his face somehow makes his hair blonder – Sakura didn't know that such a feat was even _possible_ – and throws the ever-darkening circles under his eyes into sharp relief. He rolls towards her, as if feeling her gaze, and she debates crawling back under the covers next to him. But Tsunade's stressed enough with having to train the next Hokage, as Kakashi is too busy to do so, and Sakura doesn't think that her mentor will be particularly understanding if she's late because she wanted to stay in bed with said Hokage-in-training.

Sakura yawns, louder than she thought, and notices Naruto shift slightly. She turns away and grabs her jumper (well, technically it's Naruto's jumper, but at this point she's pretty sure she wears it more than he does. Besides, it's comfy and smells like him, so she's claimed it as her own) off the floor, and starts to pull it over her head when an arm wraps around her waist and she feels lips on her neck.

"Morning," Naruto says, his voice soft and groggy after a good night's sleep. Sakura leans back against her boyfriend's chest, absorbing the warmth he seems to radiate.

"Morning," she replies. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

His head nuzzles her shoulder to tell her no, and she doesn't entirely believe him, but he's warm and he's kissing her neck and drawing little circles on her hip with his finger and pulling the duvet around them and why exactly was she leaving again?

They stay that way, curled together with the covers around their upright forms, until a glance at the clock brings Sakura out of the cosy embrace of Naruto and back into reality.

"Damn it, I'm going to be late!" She shoots out of the bed, inadvertently shoving her boyfriend back onto the mattress as she rushes into the bathroom. A string of curses leave her mouth as she hastily gets ready, knowing that she won't be on time but can minimise the damage if she gets out of the house fast enough.

Slipping a jacket over her shoulders, Sakura returns to the bedroom to say goodbye before she leaves. She opens the door to her boyfriend still lying in bed, his eyes closed and a goofy grin on his face. She stops for a moment and just stares. There was a time when she _didn't_ love Naruto, and she can't quite comprehend why.

He cracks an eye open, and sees her leaning against the doorframe.

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" he jokes, his grin widening. Sakura rolls her eyes; her boyfriend looks a little _too_ pleased at his ability to make her late. She spins, waving as she leaves the room. The door shuts behind her, but doesn't stop her hearing Naruto call "I love you!" from the other side. A smile plays on her lips while she walks to the hospital, trying to think of a reason for being late that doesn't involve Naruto's annoying skill of distracting her.

All of her excuses fail, however, when Tsunade notices the fresh hickey on Sakura's neck that she completely overlooked in her rush to get ready.


End file.
